Gas turbine engines are used to power aircraft, watercraft, power generators, and the like. Gas turbine engines typically include a compressor, a combustor, and a turbine. The compressor compresses air drawn into the engine and delivers high pressure air to the combustor. In the combustor, fuel is mixed with the high pressure air and is ignited. Products of the combustion reaction in the combustor are directed into the turbine where work is extracted to drive the compressor and, sometimes, an output shaft. Left-over products of the combustion are exhausted out of the turbine and may provide thrust in some applications.
Compressors and turbines typically include alternating stages of static vane assemblies and rotating wheel assemblies. Stationary sump or bearing hub chambers are provided for mounting lubricated bearings and gears therein. Generally, there is a continuous flow of oil into and out of these chambers to lubricate the bearings or gears. Some oil supply designs have included oil supply pipes routed through hot nozzle guide vanes, hot structures, and near hot turbine disks in the gas turbine engine.
Oil supply pipes in these extreme conditions have increased risks of thinned wall deflections, cracks, and other rupture failures. When conventional oil supply pipes fail, they can result in oil leaking onto hot surfaces or spraying into hot areas where the oil can ignite resulting in fire and damage to the engine. The risk of an oil fire from a leak or other failure in a supply pipe is higher than other service pipes due to the pressurized oil inside. Accordingly, new configurations are needed to mitigate the heat and location risks associated with supplying oil to bearing chambers in gas turbine engines.